Cronos, Rhea and Zeus- Greek creation myth

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Transcript of Cronos, Rhea and Zeus- Greek creation myth

Greek Creation Myth-Cronos, Rhea and ZeusIllustrated by: Madeline CurtisIn the very beginning, there was nothing- This was called Chaos, and Chaos was an unmeasurable abyss.From this nothingness came Mother Earth (Gaia) and Sky (Uranus), and the Underworld (Tartarus)From Gaia and Uranus came six twins known as the Titans. The six twin Titans were named Oceanus and Thethys, Coeos and Phoebe, Hyperion and Thea, Creos and Themis, Iapetos and Clymene, and finally Cronos and Rhea.Gaia and Uranus also gave birth to three Cyclopes and three giants (each with fifty heads and one-hundred arms). Uranus disliked his monstrous offspring, so he threw them into Tartarus, in the burning center of the earth, the underworld.This greatly angered Gaia, and she made a plan for revenge against Uranus for banishing their children to Tartarus. She called upon her children, the Titans, to help her. All but one feared their fierce father so much that they refused to help her. The youngest, Cronos (master of time), came to his mother's aid. Cronos, with his mother’s help, created a sickle (an weapon with a sharp curved blade) and cut Uranus into pieces when Uranus came to sleep beside his wife for the evening.It is said that Cronos severed Uranus' genitals and cast them into the sea. According to some versions of the myth, the goddess Aphrodite was created from the sea foam that was created from the blood that dropped into the sea from Uranus' genitals.

After defeating his father, Cronos married his sister, Rhea. The two had six children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. After each birth, Cronos swallowed the children because of a prophecy that claimed one of his children would overthrow him.Rhea tricked Cronos with the sixth child, Zeus. Instead of handing Cronos Zeus upon his birth, she gave Cronos a rock in a blanket. Cronos swallowed it believing it was the baby. Rhea then smuggled the baby Zeus to the island of Crete to be raised by nymphs. When Zeus was of age, Rhea arranged for him to be the cupbearer to Cronos. She gave Zeus a potion that would induce vomiting to give to Cronos. When Cronos drank the potion, he promptly threw up the children he had swallowed. They were grateful to their brother Zeus and pledged their allegiance to him in the battle against Cronos for ultimate power. Zeus also freed the Hundred Handed Giants and Cyclopes from Tartarus to help him in his war against Cronos and the Titans (who fought beside their brother, Cronos). The Titans and the Olympians (Zeus and his siblings) fought long and viciously. Eventually the Olympians succeeded. Zeus punished the Titans by throwing most of them into Tartarus. Zeus fulfilled the prophecy and overthrew his father; he became to ruler of all Greek gods.